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heyitsheather's review against another edition
3.0
This book is more of a 3.75 for me. The cases were for the most part interesting and the scientific detail was fascinating, but I found I didn't care very much about the biographical elements. I also found the author quite hypocritical - he calls many people arrogant and then is very arrogant himself.
There are also some pretty dated views and language, which I expected, though the author is respectful of the dead. I felt quite uncomfortable with his views on suicide and if that is a topic you find difficult, you may want to skip chapter six.
Overall I liked this book, but I was expecting less biography and more case studies and I wouldn't say its the best book on the subject.
There are also some pretty dated views and language, which I expected, though the author is respectful of the dead. I felt quite uncomfortable with his views on suicide and if that is a topic you find difficult, you may want to skip chapter six.
Overall I liked this book, but I was expecting less biography and more case studies and I wouldn't say its the best book on the subject.
lexesmikasa's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book out of curiosity and have to say it exceed excellence. It included terms with pictures to help readers and I also found this book to helpful with my classes.
huitthuitt's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is the first book I was required to read for my forensics class senior year in high school that I genuinely read (you know how required reading sucked).
Everything was interesting and I referred back to it a lot when talking about cases Maples has done.
Everything was interesting and I referred back to it a lot when talking about cases Maples has done.
beththeawkward's review against another edition
This book wasn't what I thought it would be, which is my bad. I was looking for something more about what examinations of the dead can tell us about how earlier peoples lived; but this book is very true crime focused. I should have paid attention to the fact that the author is a FORENSIC anthropologist, again that's my bad. I am really uninterested in true crime.
zara_m's review against another edition
4.0
Some of you guys need to chill out omg. Are you forgetting the type of person who wrote this and the time he wrote it in? Of course he's going to be arrogant and self important; he's been told how great he is his entire life and he's a successful white man. I genuinely don't think he knows any better. And I can forgive him because he knows his stuff and he's dead. I acknowledge the subtle sexism, but you cannot possibly think a man like this is going to be some great feminist activist. Anyway, yeah he does often drone on about how great he is, but I didn't find it annoying or upsetting because I don't think it's coming from a bad place. He really is very knowledgable and clever and I think there's more to gain from that than there is from criticizing his ego, if that makes sense. You know when you meet someone really interesting who loves to talk about their really interesting experiences and knowledge? This book is like that I think, but it's better because you are in no way obligated to listen to all that he has to say. So if you're someone who is easily annoyed by arrogance I don't think this would be a fun read, but if you can look past that, then there's really interesting stories and descriptions and just thoughtful writing overall. Also, he's very funny and the writing is not at all bad, which is sometimes what happens when a non writer writes a book. I'd say this book is equal parts biography and true crime, so expect some mildly irrelevant life stories about baboon bites and apology letters from New Hampshire investigators. I will say, I wish this book included some stories where he had been found wrong in his findings because he did mention that it happens of course, but it would be cool to know the stories where he was not the hero.
circularcubes's review against another edition
5.0
I savored every word. This is going right onto my favorites list, no bones about it.
pinkpanther's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5